Sweet potato and lentil tacos with cabbage and cranberries!

Taco Tuesday! Summer is a long way to go but today is Taco Tuesday, so I have a new Fall Taco recipe here 🙂 I had almost settled on a hearty soup for today before I came up this taco idea – sadly the soup has to wait for a colder winter evening! May be tomorrow? 🙂 I had never given much thought about trying out recipes very specific to a theme before, but trying out these Fall Recipes have sure got me excited!

I think I owe some part of my good mood today to a relaxing short afternoon walk! The weather was so perfect and it just did not feel like exercise 🙂 I think I should catch the afternoon sun whenever possible!!

Anyways, back to the recipe 🙁 🙂 I have used lentils cooked with tomatoes and jalapeños as the base filling here. Followed by roasted sweet potatoes and green pepper! Yumm! I wanted to load this taco with lots of veggies so I followed the roasted veggies with some crunchy cabbage and cranberry salad. And I simply love avocado – so I topped with a creamy avocado yogurt dressing 🙂 When you bite in, the different layers have their own texture and flavors which make it so delicious!

This could seem like a lot of work, but actually the recipe is quite simple. All you need is some lentils, roasted veggies and avocado! And you can mix and match the flavors and veggies to make your own taco! For instance, instead of the cabbage salad, you can top with lettuce or shredded carrots or anything else that you love.

Ingredients

250 grams sweet potato

1/2 medium sized green pepper

1/2 cup brown lentils

2 Roma tomatoes (you can use any variety)

1/2 jalapeño (it was not too spicy – but if you prefer you can reduce this quantity)

2 cloves garlic

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Handful of shredded cabbage (green and purple) and carrots

1 tbsp dried cranberries

1 small avocado

4 tbsp Greek yogurt

Handful of chopped cilantro

Salt to taste

1 tsp oil

3 tortillas

Preparation Time: 10 min

Cooking Time: 30 min

Servings: 3 Tacos

Method

Preheat your oven to 350 degree fahrenheit. Meanwhile wash and clean the sweet potato and pepper. Peel the sweet potato skin and chop it into bite sized pieces. (If you prefer you can leave the skin on – but you would have to clean it well). Chop the pepper also. Toss them separately with 1 tsp oil and some salt.

Spread the veggies on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake for 15 to 20 min till the sweet potato gets soft. Check on the veggies because the peppers will get done sooner! Remove the peppers and let the sweet potato cook. I don’t like the vegetables too soft, so I removed it when it was still a little crunchy!

Once the vegetables are in the oven, you can work on the lentils! Wash the lentils well in cold water. Take a saucepan and add the lentils and 1 1/2 cups of water. Close the lid and let it cook on slow heat.

Chop the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes, jalapeño and garlic to a blender and blend it smooth.

Check on the lentils in between and give a quick stir. Add this tomato purée to the lentils and add salt according to your taste. Cook without a lid on medium heat till the lentils are soft. You don’t want it mushy or watery. Add water only as much as required in between. If there is some water left, let it evaporate completely. The whole thing should take about 20 minutes. Once the lentils are done, turn off the heat, add some lemon juice and mix everything well.

While the lentils are cooking, prepare the cabbage salad. Add the shredded cabbage/carrots and cranberries to a bowl. Add some salt and lemon juice.

Take the pulp of the avocado in another bowl. Mash it well with a spoon. Add Greek yogurt, chopped cilantro and some salt and mix really well. (We use salt for every stage – so you will need to be careful)

To assemble, lightly toast the tortillas on a skillet. Then in the serving plate, add the different fillings on the tortilla. Start with the lentils. Add the roasted vegetables, cabbage salad and top with the avocado dressing!

Notes

I used the oven to roast the sweet potato and pepper, you can do it on the stove top too. Add a little oil in a pan. Once it is heated, add the peppers and sprinkle some salt and let it cook a little. Once it is done, remove it, add the sweet potato and repeat the same process. Cook while stirring in between till the sweet potato is done.